Russia Could See More Significant Constitutional Reforms

Russia’s Constitution may undergo new substantial amendments, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy said during the session titled The Culture of Legislative Activity at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. According to Tolstoy, for the past 30 years, Russia had been trying to conform to global standards, “which turned out to be Western standards” and ultimately did not take root. He compared this effort to grafting a plastic branch onto a living tree. “Back in the Yeltsin era, we had a lot of such branches stuck into the tree of Russian life. Most of them withered, and now present a rather pitiful sight,” he said.